Wednesday, September 5, 2012

England v USA stats

So, let's take a look at some numbers, shall we?


TeamScore LJsLJ ppj PJsPJ ppj Short PJs Stops1Pass
3England 7075.7 411.0 1714
1USA 296329.2 515.60 314


About the bout: 
USA of course outscoring England and winning the battle for Lead Jam status.  With lead jam, USA doing a little over 50% better than England.  Interesting to note here is that both teams were recording 2-pass derby with lead jam status.  The defence-offence transition was apparently a bit weak for both teams.

Both teams had a handful of power jams, but USA was better able to make use of them.  I, personally, attribute that more to the difference in the pack than that of the jammers.  The USA blockers were quite adept at getting a shoulder or a hip in the way, and then never breaking that contact.

Often the USA power jam defence was based on only one or two blockers engaging the jammer--the others simply made sure those two stayed in play.  The two who were engaging were often grabbing the far sides of each others' bodies, to make sure that wall stayed tight.  The amazing thing was that this was only done on the side opposite the jammer.  When the jammer tried to go through there, all the grabbing ceased, so that a devastating muliplayer block major was avoided!

USA able to keep England from scoring almost every time they had lead, but the Roses (it just felt right to call 'em that at the bout) able to prevent USA from scoring every lead jam.

One deciding factor was that Team USA were able to hold Team England scoreless the first 11 jams of the second half.  The lead was only 71 points coming back from the break, so that  jump provided the proverbial icing on the cake.


And the world? 
Team England showed their world-class power last night.  Canada were beaten by USA in the world cup 336-33, so the Roses out-performed the World Cup silver medallist side.  Canada recorded 9 LJs to USA's 25 in that bout, but that's within the margin of error of England's 7 LJs.

The USA showed their strength against the Scandinavians on Saturday, and defeated Finland on their home soil by a massive margin.  The tourists here did not bring their B-list skaters, they came to roll over the opposition wherever they went.

Nonetheless, little old England, that plucky little island country that has consistently punched above its weight this summer in Stratford, did so again in Newham.  The Roses taught the Americans that derby over on this side of the pond is not to be underestimated.

--[Edit: I am aware that Team GB is not equivalent to Team England.  However, English athletes were part of the team that punched above their weight in the Olympics, so I took a bit of artistic license.  I did have to take a moment in the broadcast to explain the nature of the UK as a union of countries to the US viewers.]--

Therefore, I think England should be considered the world #2 nation for roller derby.

What do you think?  Take a moment to fill out a simple poll and tell me where you think England, USA, Canada, etc. stand in the world of International Roller Derby. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YNXJV5H


Roll on Roses!

5 comments:

  1. England isn't an island nation Statman, it is part of an island nation. England didn't outperform itself at Stratford this Summer, Team UK did. There is a big difference and it is disrespectful to the other nations in the UK to forget them. Other than that you do a fantastic job and I love reading your stats.

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    1. Yeah, I know England isn't the whole UK. After all, I live in Wales and know their anthem!

      However English athletes were part of Team GB that did so well. I was just trying to draw the comparison. I do not mean to take anything away from the Scottish, Welsh, or Northern Irish athletes.

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  2. I read this in your voice. I didn't think about doing that, it just happened. It was a bit weird.

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  3. Should we not take into account the strategy currently applied for PJ's that was never in play at the World Cup? How many of the 44 PJ points were the result of the conga line/passive offence for PJ's?
    If comparing score differential is a factor how about the WC stats. Canada allowed 50 points against in 3 pool games.
    England allowed 95 in 2 pool games.
    Offensively in the quarter finals Canada scored 499 against the 5th ranked Finns, England 383 against the 7th ranked French.
    And then the semi final game had Canada over England 161 to 90.
    Safe to say stats can help support many opinons and angles, ultimately we need to get Canada and England back on the track to settle things.
    For my money that was the best game of the World Cup.

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    1. Best game except for Ireland - Finland. That was fun.

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